The present invention relates to dispensers, and more particularly such dispensers which are useful to lubricate catheters.
A various assortment of catheters have been proposed for use in patients. In particular, catheters of the Foley type have been utilized to drain urine from the patient's bladder. During placement, a distal end of the catheter is passed through the urethra until a drainage eye and balloon on the distal end of the catheter are located in the patient's bladder, and the balloon is then inflated to retain the catheter in place. In this configuration, a proximal end of the catheter, which projects from the patient's body, is attached to the distal end of a drainage tube. During catheterization, urine passes from the bladder through the drainage eye, the catheter, and the drainage tube to a drainage bag for retention therein.
Due to the relative sizes of the catheter shaft and the urethra, the physician or attendant commonly applies a lubricant jelly to the catheter shaft before placement of the catheter in order to facilitate passage of the catheter shaft through the urethra. In the past, containers or dispensers retaining the jelly have been utilized to apply the jelly onto the catheter shaft, and commonly both the dispenser and catheter are supplied to the physician in a sterile tray which retains the components necessary for catheterization. However, it has been found that during sterilization of the trays, the dispensers have a tendency to expand due to differential pressures in the dispenser and the remainder of the tray during either gas or heat sterilization procedures. As a result, if the dispensers are bipartate in form, the dispensers are susceptible to leakage during sterilization. Thus, the jelly may pass to remote parts of the tray, as well as the outside of the dispenser itself, resulting in spoilage of the tray, or, at the very least, rendering the tray in a messy and undesirable condition for the physician.